Past Player Profile – Matthew L. “Hutchy” Hutchinson

Today we’re taking a look back at the career of long time Echidna, Matt Hutchinson a.k.a. “Hutchy”.

 

Hutchy debuted in senior cricket for the WCC as a 14 year old during the 1997/98 season, playing Under 16’s in the morning and then C Grade in the afternoon as the C’s would go on to win the premiership that season, and Hutchy played a major role – in the Semi Final he came to the crease at No. 8 with Wistow in all sorts of trouble at 6/57 and put on a crucial 34 run partnership for the seventh wicket and continued to grind away for a determined 12 not out as Wistow reached 123 before bowling out the chasing Mt Barker side for 94. He then followed that up with 3 catches behind the stumps in the Grand Final. Not bad for a 14 yo in his first season of senior cricket!

 

In his first season out of Under 16’s in 1999/00, Hutchy tasted further success as he moved into the A Grade and won his first of two A Grade flags (the other coming in 2002/03).

 

Hutchy would develop into a talented batter who mostly opened but excelled whenever given the chance to bat at No. 3 and who was known for his classical stroke play leading to him being fondly remembered as one of the best net batters in club history and undoubtedly the best exponent of the lofted off drive to have ever called the Hill home. Despite his tall stature, Hutchy was also a polished wicketkeeper who used his long reach to his advantage and kept particularly well to spin bowling.

 

Hutchy’s best seasons came in 2006/07 and 2012/13. In 2006/07, he started the season in B Grade and peeled off scores of 63, 122, 9*, 4 and 117 to force his way back into the A’s where he would also score his first A Grade fifty – 62* in a match against Echunga where he top scored. All told, he scored 409 runs that season at an average of 51.13. In the 2012/13 season Hutchy won his 4th senior premiership and in the process became the first (and to date, only) player in club history to win premierships in each of A Grade, B Grade and C Grade – playing B’s for all but a couple of games that season, Hutchy racked up 464 runs @ 33.14 including 79* in the Semi Final where he combined with Elliot Pryor to put on a 191 run partnership for the third wicket as the Echidnas cruised to 3/217 from their allotted overs before rolling Milang for just 97.

 

All up, Hutchy has played 173 matches for Wistow, scoring 3,439 runs @ 20.35 with 4 centuries and 12 fifties. His best work came in the B Grade where Hutchy played 52 matches, scoring 1,408 runs @ 26.57. An opener for much of his career, particularly in A Grade, Hutchy scored over 1,500 runs at 18.80 as an opener but he truly excelled at No. 3 where in only 36 innings he scored 946 runs @ 30.52.

 

Finishing as a regular player for the club after the 2013/14 season, Hutchy continued to play sporadically until 2020 when he and his family made the move down to the South Coast, where Hutchy has turned out for a handful of matches for the Victor Harbor Cricket Club during each of the last two seasons.